title: Traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and quality control of Polyporus umbellatus (Pers.) Fries: a review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Polyporus umbellatus (Pers.) Fries (Polyporaceae, Zhuling ) has been commonly used in medicine for a wide range of ailments related to the edema, scanty urine, vaginal discharge, urinary dysfunction, as well as jaundice and diarrhea.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present paper reviewed the traditional uses, propagation, phytochemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and quality control of Polyporus umbellatus.
  
  
  METHODS
  All the available information on Polyporus umbellatus was collected via a library and electronic search (using Web of Science, Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Splinker, Google Scholar, etc.).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Phytochemical studies showed the presence of many valuable secondary metabolites such as steroids, polysaccharides, anthraquinones and nucleosides. Crude extracts and isolated compounds showed a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities including diuretic, nephroprotective, anti-cancer, immuno-enhancing, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory and antioxidative activities. The pharmacokinetic studies demonstrated that the ergosterol and ergone had a high distribution and absorption in the plasma and the two main components of Polyporus umbellatus were mainly excreted by faeces. The determination of multiple chemical components was successfully applied to the quality control of Polyporus umbellatus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Modern phytochemical, pharmacological and metabonomic investigations showed that the crude extracts and isolated compounds from Polyporus umbellatus possess many kinds of biological functions, especially in the diuretic activities and the treatment of kidney diseases as well as anti-cancer, immuno-enhancing and hepatoprotective activities. The pathways of the distribution, absorption, metabolism and excretion of main steroidal compounds were clarified by pharmacokinetic studies. Most of the pharmacological studies were conducted using crude and poorly characterized extracts of Polyporus umbellatus in animals especially in case of diuretic activities and the treatment of kidney diseases. Thus, more bioactive components especially diuretic compounds should be identified using bioactivity-guided isolation strategies and the possible mechanism of action as well as potential synergistic or antagonistic effects of multi-component mixtures derived from Polyporus umbellatus need to be evaluated integrating pharmacological, pharmacokinetic, bioavailability-centered and physiological approaches. In addition, more experiments including in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies should be encouraged to identify any side effects or toxicity. These achievements will further expand the existing therapeutic potential of Polyporus umbellatus and provide a beneficial support to its future further clinical use in modern medicine.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, The College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, No. 229 Taibai North Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710069, PR China. zyy@nwu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Ying-Yong
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D020834:Ethnopharmacology; D062610:Fungal Polysaccharides / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D015394:Molecular Structure; D055492:Polyporus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development; D011786:Quality Control; D013256:Steroids / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D062610:Fungal Polysaccharides; D013256:Steroids
keywords: A. mellea; AQP1; AQP2; AQP3; Armillariella mellea; CRF; CZE; CaOx; Ergone; FA-ergone-BSANPs; FLD; HPLC; IFN-γ; MS(n); P. umbellatus; PUP; Pharmacokinetics; Pharmacology; Phytochemistry; Polyporus umbellatus; Polyporus umbellatus polysaccharides; Propagation; Quality control; RRLC; SD; Sprague-Dawley; TCM; TGF-β1; TLR-4; TNF-α; UPLC-Q-TOF/MS; V(2)R; WLS; Wulingsan; aquaporin-1; aquaporin-2; aquaporin-3; calcium oxalate; capillary zone electrophoresis; chronic renal failure; ergosta-4,6,8(14),22-tetren-3-one; fluorescence detection; folate-decorated ergone-bovine serum albumin nanoparticles; high performance liquid chromatography; interferon-γ; multi-stage mass spectrometry; rapid resolution liquid chromatography; toll-like receptor 4; traditional Chinese medicine; transforming growth factor-β1; tumor necrotic factor-α; ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry; vasopressin V(2) receptor